1996 Cape Mentelle Shiraz, Margaret River, Western Australia

A full-bodied, intense wine still with noticeable tannin and integrated wood, giving it structure, some austerity and firmness. There is perfume in the bouquet to go with developing complexity in the taste. The color is an inky dark red with perhaps a slight tinge of purple. There's lots of concentrated blackberryish fruit, and a lingering taste. At nine years, this wine will easily keep and develop for another nine or so. Served with a delicious chicken cacciatore. Close-out price $12; regular price $16.
Rating: Very Good

2003 Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa

Strong acidity, dry, with a touch of austerity; some SB grassiness. A bit light in intensity, with moderate length. Close-out price $8; regular price $12.
Rating: Good

Blending this wine with the 2004 Villa Maria SB from NZ (see further below) seems to improve both.

2000 Chablis Premier Cru, Montée de Tonnerre, Louis Michel & Fils, France

Not your flinty chablis with its bracing acidity nor a Puligny-Montrachet pretender with its intense fruit-wood-acidity balance. A bit soft and a bit more body than most, well-balanced overall but only moderately intense; with fairly long taste. Any wood is subdued, and acidity is sufficient. Golden color. Accompanied broiled salmon with a honey-hoisin sauce-mustard glaze. Close-out price $20; regular price $34.
Rating: Good ++

2002 Estancia Pinot Noir, Pinnacles Ranches, Proprietor Grown, Monterey

Some varietal pinot noir character in taste and aroma; some firmness and backbone from wood and perhaps a bit of tannin. Moderate intensity with a bit less fruit than I would expect from a very good year, and fairly short taste. Goes better with food than as a sipping wine. Sale price $13.
Rating: Good

The 2002 Meridian Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara is a substantially better wine and a much better deal at a sale price of $8.

2002 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett, Reuscher-Haart, M-S-R

Not quite at the same level as the 2001 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen from the same producer, but a fine wine in itself. The sweetness is also at the boundary of Kabinett and Spätlese, and there is pineapple acidity to match the riesling fruit and floral bouquet. This wine is not as intense or complex as the 2001, but also tastes very young, so it is likely to develop over time. Light golden color, lingering taste. Close-out price $12; regular price $20.
Rating: Good +

2001 Foley Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley

Lots of fruit, with some perfume in the bouquet, fairly dark and intense, with a lingering taste. Very well balanced, with a just a touch of backbone, but flavorfully seductive. Close-out price $22; regular price $29.
Rating: Very Good +

2000 Morey Saint-Denis, Le Très Girard, vin non filtré, Michel Magnien, France

More floral bouquet than many burgundies; medium-bodied, with nice balance of acidity and wood to go with the fruit. Well-structured, with a bit of firmness, fairly long taste, but surprisingly a little hollow in the middle. Close-out price $26; regular price $37.
Rating: Very Good

2001 Dolcetto d'Alba, Bricco, Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, Italy

There is a softness to this wine, not surprising for Dolcetto, but also some tannin and just enough almond-tinged wood to balance the fruit. Fairly dark red, and a bit above medium-bodied. Moderate intensity and length. Not complex, but a good food wine. Close-out price $10; regular price $15.
Rating: Good

The Wine Spectator had given this a 77 rating, so I was a little fearful of having bought a poor wine, perhaps thin, or over-wooded. Not so, another lesson in taking wine-mag ratings too seriously.

2004 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc, "Private Bin", Marlborough, New Zealand

The wine seems softer than in the past, with a bit of the mellowness that implies mass-marketing. Although some grassiness is still there, there may also be a touch of residual sugar along with a lack of acidic crispness. Moderate intensity and length, and pleasant to drink. Sale price $9.
Rating: Good

2002 Norman Vineyards Zinfandel, Paso Robles

A moderate-scale zinfandel that goes well with food. No fruit bomb with immense extract and high alcohol, this wine has some zin character with some lively acidity. Medium-bodied, with some blackberry fruitiness, with moderate intensity and length. Improved some over time. Sale price $10.
Rating: Good

1999 Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillons", Vieilles Vignes des Minots, Verget, France

Not the flinty, austere wine one would think of as Chablis, this one tastes as if it came from further south. Medium-bodied, with superb intensity, depth and balance of fruit, acidity and wood, the taste lingers on an on. Sip by sip, a revelation. Deep golden color. No doubt the old vines have a great deal to do with all that. Close-out price $20; regular price $35.
Rating: Excellent

1999 Pouilly-Fuissé, Labouré-Roi, France

No flaws, well-balanced, but without character, intensity or depth. Light-bodied, not identifiable as chardonnay in the French or any other style. Moderate length, light golden color. Close-out price $10; regular price $14.
Rating: Good

2003 Hogue Fumé Blanc, Columbia Valley, Washington

Always a good and reliable buy, but in a somewhat different style than in the past. This wine is softer than before, and also does not have the vanillin wood that it used to have. The intensity remains above average, with a moderately long taste. There is no sauvignon blanc grassiness. Easy-drinking - has the vinification been changed for the marketplace? Sale price $7.
Rating: Good +

2002 Bogle Vineyards Zinfandel, Old Vine, California

Does not have the depth, intensity, complexity and length that one expects from "old vine". Maybe the "California" designation rather than that of a more local region is a clue. Fairly soft, with flavorful blackberry fruit, dark color, straight-forward, and none too long in taste. Regular price $12.
Rating: Good

1999 Rabbit Ridge Pinot Noir, "Frank Johnson Vineyard", Russian River Valley

A delicous wine, more than medium-bodied, lush fruit with any wood or tannin well in check, but adding to the complexity. Lingering taste, perfumed bouquet. I don't recall the price.
Rating: Very Good +

2004 Finca El Portillo Sauvignon Blanc, Mendoza, Alto Valle de Uco, Argentina

A pleasant and enjoyable sauvignon blanc from Argentina. Lighter than medium-bodied, with a touch of grassiness and good acidity. Little if any wood. Reasonable length of taste. The 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, Domaine de Coussergues, Vin de Pays d'Oc, by comparison, is a little more austere, probably from contact with some wood. A good buy at a sale price $7.
Rating: Good

2001 Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Spätlese, Paul Anheuser, Nahe

Spätlese sweetness, with a bit of spice and complexity along with the riesling floweriness and sufficient but not bright acidity. Reminds one of ripe peaches. Subdued intensity and moderately long taste. Close-out price $12; regular price $17.
Rating: Good +

1999 Marsannay "Les Grasses Têtes", Domaine Bruno Clair, France

Somewhat on the light side in color and intensity, but also with pinot noir varietal character in bouquet and taste. There's a touch of tannin and more of wood, but the fruit supports it. Moderate depth and length, a good food wine served with broiled tenderloin, red cabbage and fried potatoes. Close-out price $20; regular price $28.
Rating: Very Good -

Red-tag close-out sales this month:

Whites:

1999	Pouilly-Fuissé, Labouré-Roi, France	($10, orig. $14)
2003	Sancerre, Cuvée des Moulins Bâles, Célestin Blondeau, France	($11, orig. $16)

Reds:

1996	Cape Mentelle Shiraz, Margaret River, Western Australia	($12, orig. $16)
1998	Ferrari-Carano Syrah, Tremonte, Alexander Valley	($16, orig. $20)
1999	Dolcetto d'Alba, Bricco, Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, Italy	($10, orig. $15)